A research study was concluded recently to estimate the population prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in an urban community of German third graders and the diagnostic test accuracy of two OSA screening methods.

Using a cross-sectional study design with a multi-stage sampling strategy, 27 out of 59 primary schools within the city limits of Hannover, Germany, were selected. One-thousand and forty-four (1044)  third graders were screened for symptoms of Sleep Apnea along with Symptoms and signs of OSA using questionnaires and nocturnal home pulse oximetry.

One-hundred eighty-three children underwent abbreviated nocturnal home polysomnography (OSA definition: apnoea hypopnoea index ?1) and 22 were diagnosed to suffer from OSA. In general, sensitivity for screening methods was low (<0.6), while specificity was moderately high (mostly >0.7).

Independent predictors for OSA were body mass index, history of allergy, a composite questionnaire score, and two oximetry-based criteria. Based on these variables and logistic regression, a prediction model (accuracy; 95% confidence interval: 0.86; 0.71–0.94) was constructed and applied to children who had not successfully undergone polysomnography.

This resulted in 9 additional OSA cases and an overall design-adjusted population prevalence (95% confidence interval) of 2.8% (1.5–4.1). Clinical and oximetry findings may be helpful for screening and predicting OSA in primary school children.

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Filed under: Obstructive Sleep Apnea • Polysomnography • Sleep Apnea • Sleep Apnea Diagnosis • Sleep Apnea in Children • Sleep Apnea News • Sleep Apnea Research • Sleep Apnea Study • Sleep Apnea Test

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